When Caro Lamont, former psychologist turned pet therapist, makes a house call to help Kevin Blackstone with his two misbehaving German shepherds, she expects frantic dogs; she expects a frantic dog owner; she even expects frantic neighbors. What she doesn't expect is that two hours later the police will find Kevin dead, his dogs impounded; and that as the last person to see Kevin alive (well, except for the killer) she is suddenly a person of interest, at least according to Homicide Detective Judd Malone.

Get Fluffy: A Pampered Pets Mystery, Book 2

Disgraced Texas beauty queen, Melinda (Mel) Langston, owns Laguna Beach's Bow Wow Boutique. Mona Michaels, Mel's most despised client, owns a star dog, Fluffy, who's worth millions. When Mona is found whacked in the head with Fluffy's Daytime Emmy, everyone wants Fluffy, but someone won't stop at murder to get the pooch. Secrets. Blackmail. Mel tackles the case like a dog with a bone. But can she dig up the truth before the killer buries her?

Yip/Tuck

One of Laguna Beach's best-known plastic surgeons may need a new leash on life. Unless he's just taking a very long nap on the bench outside Melinda Langston's Bow Wow Boutique... Dr. O'Doggle continued to give us the silent treatment. Fluffy eyed him intently. I studied him too. Tova Randall wasn't my BFF, to say the least, but I didn't wish her boyfriend any bad luck. My neighbor, Darby, relaxed her grip on Fluffy's leash. The big Afghan lunged toward Dr. O and knocked him over.

Lowcountry Boneyard: A Liz Talbot Mystery, Book 3

The 23-year-old heiress from one of Charleston's oldest families vanished a month ago. When her father hires private investigator Liz Talbot, Liz suspects the most difficult part of her job will be convincing the patriarch his daughter tired of his overbearing nature and left town. That's what the Charleston Police Department believes. But behind the garden walls South of Broad, family secrets pop up like weeds in the azaleas.

Musseled Out: A Maine Clambake Mystery

The busy summer tourist season is winding down in Busman's Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden senses trouble simmering for the Snowden Family Clambake Company. Shifty David Thwing - the "Mussel King" of upscale seafood restaurants - is sniffing around town for a new location. But serving iffy clams turns out to be the least of his troubles....

Lease on the Beach: A Damaged Goods Mystery

After a brush with death, Jackie Parker has big plans to lie low for a while. The best-laid plans didn't check in with her stressful job as part of Damaged Goods property management - or her drama queen mother.

Dial C For Chihuahua: A Barking Detective Mystery

Pepe may have soft white fur, big brown eyes, and mucho attitude - but he's no furry fashion fad. Pepe can talk - even if his new owner, Geri Sullivan, seems to be the only person who can understand him. When Geri takes on her first assignment for a quirky investigator named Jimmy G and stumbles over a Seattle millionaire's corpse, Pepe proves to be worth his weight in liver treats.

The Diva Takes the Cake: Domestic Diva, Book 2

Sophie Winston's sister, Hannah, is getting married - again! And if you ask Sophie, her future brother-in-law is no prince. But is he a killer? That's the question on everyone's mind when his ex-wife is found hanging from a pergola. This is one event Sophie and her sister hadn't planned on.

Home of the Brave: Raine Stockton Dog Mystery, Book 9

Raine Stockton and her high-spirited, big-hearted golden retriever, Cisco, are accustomed to being heroes wherever they go. But there's a new dog in town, and Raine and Cisco find themselves upstaged by a flashy K-9 addition to the sheriff's department. Nike and her handler, Jolene, are part of a new government-funded program. Though Raine admires Nike's talent almost as much as she resents Jolene's arrogance, she wonders why the Department of Homeland Security would send such an expensive gift to their sleepy Smoky Mountain community.

Oh Say Can You Fudge

It's not Fourth of July on Mackinac Island without fireworks and fudge. The Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop is supplying the treats - and Allie has hired Rodney Rivers, the biggest name in aerial displays, to create an unforgettable spectacle. Unfortunately Allie finds him dead, covered with screaming-chicken fireworks, just before the entire warehouse of pyrotechnics goes up in smoke. Is it arson, or is it murder?

Murder, Lies and Chocolate: Death by Chocolate, Book 2

Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Then someone breaks into her house and tries to dig up her basement. Next her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small, old house and take his big, new house instead. Suddenly everybody wants Lindsay's house. Is there oil under the basement, plans to bring the railroad through, pirate treasure buried in the basement?

Secret Bond: Jamie Bond, Book 2

Her name is Bond. Jamie Bond. And she is licensed to kill any pre-nup you can throw at her. Catching cheating husbands became Jamie Bond's life when her father was shot and wounded on the job, forcing Jamie to take over the family business: The Bond Agency. But three years later, the P.I. is shocked when the gun that wounded her father surfaces during a high-profile murder trial. Is this the connection Jamie's been waiting for to finally nail her father's shooter?

The Diva Paints the Town: Domestic Diva Series, Book 3

When Sophie Winston's neighbor - a reclusive professor - dies, his final wish is for the Domestic Diva to throw a dinner party in his honor, and he's planned everything down to the letter. But what no one planned for is the corpse of a student that Sophie finds in his house...or the mysterious will that shows up asking the question: Did the professor cover up a huge crime?

A Pedigree to Die For: A Melanie Travis Mystery

The apparent heart attack that killed kennel owner Max Turnbull has left seven pups in mourning, and his wife Peg suspecting foul play. But the only evidence is their missing prize pooch - a pedigreed poodle named Beau.

A Chihuahua in Every Stocking

Who would steal a little girl's dog, right before Christmas? After seeing young Sophie's heartbreaking story on the news, P.I. Geri Sullivan and Pepe - her talking Chihuahua - vow to rescue this bonita canine named Chiquita. But tracking the pooch's scent through a Pacific Northwest winter wonderland isn't easy, especially when the trail leads to an elf who's been mortally mauled! Geri and Pepe must save little Sophie's Christmas and find this muy naughty dognapper...

Unbreakable Bond: Jamie Bond, Book 1

Jamie Bond is a former cover model who switches gears to take over the family business: The Bond Agency, a high-powered P.I. firm located in Los Angeles that specializes in domestic espionage - catching cheating husbands. Jamie's assembled a team of other disenchanted former models to help her take names and kick derrieres among L.A.'s wealthiest philandering husbands.

Lethal Bond: Jamie Bond, Book 3

Her name is Bond. Jamie Bond. And her luck may have just run out. P.I. Jamie Bond knows there's corruption in the Los Angeles County D.A.'s office. What she doesn't know is how far it runs and if her on-again, off-again love interest, A.D.A. Aiden Prince, is involved. Is he aware of the danger lurking in his halls of justice? Is he dating his exotic beauty of a co-chair? And why are drug dealers making middle of the night calls to the D.A.? Jamie is determined to find out.

Rose and Helena Save Christmas: A Novella

Rose Gardner and Neely Kate Colson are thrilled with Mason's early present to Rose - a trip for the two of them to New Orleans for shopping, great food, and awesome seats to Wicked. Neely Kate plans to use the opportunity to visit a psychic and find out once and for all what her paranormal ability is. But when the psychic is murdered, and Neely Kate and Rose were the last people to see her alive, they find themselves the main suspects in a Christmas killing.

A Fine Fix: A Trudie Fine Mystery

Things couldn't be better for Trudie Fine and her partner, Zachary Cohen. It's the first big job for their catering company, A Fine Fix, and everyone who's anyone in the Washington, D.C., area will be at the Schwartzes' backyard Mexican fiesta. With the tables set, the food prepared to perfection, and the Mariachi band sizzling, Trudie is mellow as a Margarita smoothie... until a dead body is discovered floating in the pool.

Sense of Deception

Abby Cooper senses a convicted killer is innocent, but she'll need hard evidence to save the woman before it's too late.... A ticked-off judge has tossed Abby in the slammer for contempt of court, and during her brief but unpleasant stay she learns the story of a condemned woman who is facing a far more serious sentence. Skylar Miller has been found guilty of murder and faces the death penalty. Everyone believes she's guilty, including her own family and her ex-husband - everyone, that is, except Abby.

Scents and Sensibility: A Chet and Bernie Mystery

In the latest entry in the immensely popular Chet and Bernie mystery series, Private Investigator Bernie Little and his canine companion, Chet, return home to encounter some alarming developments. First off, Bernie's wall safe - normally hidden behind the waterfall picture in the office - is gone, and with it Bernie's grandfather's watch, their most valuable possession. And next door, old Mr. Parsons is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert. Bernie and Chet go deep into the desert to investigate.

Stiff Penalty

Deputy coroner Mattie Winston knows a thing or two about dead bodies. That's why she's on the case of Derrick Ames, a high school math teacher stabbed to death with a barbecue fork straight to the heart. Sure, she's turned up some motives and a few suspects, but nothing adds up. Especially when the evidence points to Ames's teenage son. Newly pregnant Mattie can't believe it, even as her own long-estranged father may be following her.

Bond Bombshell: A Jamie Bond Short Story

Maya Alexander is the organized-and-in-charge office manager of the Bond Agency, Los Angeles's premier PI firm, specializing in catching cheating husbands. But when Maya is thrust into the field to catch her first mark in the act, she realizes this case is personal. Her mark just happens to be her ex-fiancé... and things did not end well between them. Can Maya prove that he's repeating his past mistakes with his current wife? Or is something more sinister happening in this Beverly Hills couple's life?

Homicide in High Heels

It's springtime in California! The flowers are in bloom, the fashion week runways are fierce, and fans of America's favorite pastime are filling the baseball stadiums to root for their favorite team. But when the girlfriend of the L.A. Stars rookie MVP winds up dead at a chic Beverly Hills salon, it's suddenly up to fashion designer Maddie Springer to track down the "Tanning Salon Killer."

Publisher's Summary

In posh Laguna Beach, murder has gone to the dogs.

When Caro Lamont, former psychologist turned pet therapist, makes a house call to help Kevin Blackstone with his two misbehaving German shepherds, she expects frantic dogs; she expects a frantic dog owner; she even expects frantic neighbors. What she doesn't expect is that two hours later the police will find Kevin dead, his dogs impounded; and that as the last person to see Kevin alive (well, except for the killer) she is suddenly a person of interest, at least according to Homicide Detective Judd Malone.

Detective Judd Malone scanned my living room, his baby blues taking in my overstuffed couch, easy chairs and crowded bookshelves. My cats, Thelma and Louise, perched in the window sill, replete with tuna. Each opened an eye and then, unimpressed, went back to their beauty sleep. Dogbert climbed from his doggie bed, trotted over for a sniff, but then also dismissed Malone and went back to his nap.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked.

Some hospitality is automatic. Even when you have an unannounced guest. Even a guest who might arrest you. He shook his head and continued his scan.

"Well, then. What can I help you with, Detective?"

"I understand you visited Kevin Blackstone today?"

"Yes, I did. I'm the behavioral counselor for his German shepherds. What about Kevin?" I had a really bad feeling about this.

Malone arched a brow. "Kevin Blackstone is dead."

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets - Sparkle (Mary Lee's cat) and Abbey (Anita's dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and depending on the time of day either an iced tea or a margarita. Visit the authors at www.SparkleAbbey.com.

I was hoping for more humor in this story. There were a couple of funny moments, but not laugh out loud. The story was very good. I learned more about dogs behavior than I wanted to know, however it made for an interesting story.

Even though this was a lower priced book, it sounded like it would be funny. The wanna be southern voice is terrible. The story is so dumb, it is a turnoff from the very beginning. I would not recommend this book.

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